Media content catalog service

ABSTRACT

Aggregating media content catalog data from a plurality of content providers. The catalog data is merged according to rules and provided to a user on a scheduled basis or on demand. In an embodiment, the merged catalog data represents an incremental update to previously delivered catalog data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/461,589, filed Aug. 1, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Consumers have been benefiting from additional freedom and control over the consumption of digital media content. One example is the proliferation of personal video recorder systems (PVRs) that allow consumers to record television shows for later viewing. The adoption of PVRs has furthered interest in on-demand, consumer-driven experiences with content consumption. Examples of existing systems include on-demand digital cable, internet video streaming services, and peer-to-peer distribution networks. Other existing systems include music and video stores providing consumers with content that may be purchased and subsequently viewed on personal video or audio players.

Video catalog services list the programming available through existing video services. Such video catalog services are typically developed based on the music service or video blog service associated therewith. As a result, there are certain design limitations. For instance, the existing video catalogs are derived from a music or video blog catalog which lacks support for concepts particular to the video space such as “channel” and “series”. In addition, there is no support for offline video catalog browsing. Users must be online to browse the video catalog in the existing systems. Further, there is no support for ad-sponsored free video downloads. Existing systems also typically rely on a single source for catalog content.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention provide a catalog of media items to a user. In an embodiment, the invention aggregates catalog data received from a plurality of content providers. The catalog data is associated with a plurality of media items available from each of the content providers. The aggregation occurs based on rules to create a user catalog in a pre-defined catalog format for consumption by a user.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a media content download system.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating operation of a video catalog service.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a video catalog system.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating the import, interlinking, and merging of metadata from content providers.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating receipt of catalogs from content providers.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating metadata aggregation.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating rule-based catalog interlinking.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are an exemplary flow chart illustrating a similarity analysis during rule-based catalog interlinking.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an embodiment, the invention includes a media content catalog service such as illustrated in FIG. 1. While FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary operating environment for the media content catalog service, aspects of the invention are not limited to such an environment. The media content catalog service is operable in other operating environments such as a video game console embodiment, a streaming media system, a traditional cable television system, an audio file catalog embodiment, a pay download embodiment, an ad-sponsored free download embodiment, a subscription embodiment, and the like.

Further, although described primarily in the context of video media files, aspects of the invention may be applied to various forms of digital media, including video and multimedia files (e.g., movies, movie trailers, television shows, etc.), audio files (e.g., music tracks, news reports, audio web logs, audio books, speeches, comedy routines, etc.), media broadcasts (e.g., webcasts, podcasts, audiocasts, videocasts, video blogs, blogcasts, etc.), and images.

Aspects of the invention support both online and offline catalog browsing with a hybrid catalog request model. Alternatively or in addition to viewing the catalog online, the hybrid catalog request model enables catalog data to be downloaded by a client for offline catalog browsing, and enables catalog data to be requested on-demand.

In one embodiment, the invention interlinks, merges, aggregates, or otherwise combines catalog data from multiple content providers to create an integrated catalog with metadata from the content providers based on rules. The integrated catalog contributes to a consistent user experience. The rules are configurable and may be updated without recompiling the aggregation engine. Exemplary rules are shown in Appendix A. While the combination of the catalog data may be referred to as “interlinking” and/or “merging” in particular embodiments, aspects of the invention are operable with any process to combine the catalog data.

Referring again to FIG. 1, an exemplary block diagram illustrates a media content download system. In one embodiment, the media content download system of FIG. 1 is an Internet on-demand video service that offers a large catalog of program content that may be downloaded by users free of charge (e.g., no subscription fee), on a subscription basis, or on a pay-per-download basis. The program content and ads (e.g., content items) are always available. For example, the content items may be stored on a computing device local to the user 102 such as media service client 104, or archived on a server (e.g., such as owned by content owners 106). The content items may be organized in a hierarchy of seasons each having series with each series having episodes. Revenue is generated by dynamically associating ads with the program content at playback time. The ads are inserted into the program content at playback time, and as such, may change from viewing to viewing.

The content owners 106 or providers supply program content (e.g., video and/or audio files) with associated metadata. Exemplary video fundamentals provided by the content owners 106 are shown in Appendix B. The example in Appendix B is merely exemplary. Other embodiments of the video fundamentals (e.g., markup language files) are contemplated. This metadata also includes the locations in the video at which ads can be inserted (e.g., ad breaks), and which ads provider is responsible for running the ad campaigns. One or more ads providers or advertisers 108 sell ads against the ad breaks. The ads providers supply ad content 110. The ads providers also run an ad engine and report collection service 112 for collecting the reports of which ads have been played. Furthermore, the ads providers make available ad manifest files via an ad manifest service 114. The ad manifests may be distributed via database, stream, file, or the like. The ad manifests include information about the current ad campaigns including which ads (or groups of ads) should be associated with which types of program content. The ad manifests also specify when the advertising may be shown and on what devices/formats. The ad manifests further include the definition of tracking events for reporting on the advertising playback (e.g., a video ad was played, thus it can be billed).

Content ingestion servers 116 receive the program content supplied by the content owners 106 together with the location of the ad manifests. Content delivery networks 118 interface with the media service client 104 or other computing device associated with the user 102 to deliver the content items including program content and advertisements to the user 102.

The user 102 interfaces with the media service client 104, application, computing device, or the like that provides functionality such as browsing, searching, downloading, managing and consuming the content items. The media service client 104 downloads catalog data 142 from a catalog service 122 and allows the user 102 to browse it in search of content items. Once an item is selected for download, the corresponding ad manifest is retrieved by the media service client 104 and stored. The ad manifest for each item of program content includes the information for determining which ads should be downloaded together with the program content. The media service client 104 downloads the selected program content and associated ads. Downloading includes retrieving the program content and associated ads. Downloading may also include receiving the program content and associated ads pushed from another computing device (e.g., pushed from a server at regular intervals).

The catalog service 122 includes or has access to a memory area 130. The memory area 130 stores a plurality of interlinking rules 140. The interlinking rules 140 define the processing of input data. The processing may include interlinking, merging, or any other combination of the catalog data 142. The memory area 130 further stores the catalog data 142 from the content owners 106. The catalog data 142 is associated with a plurality of media items available from each of the content owners 106. The catalog data 142 includes metadata items describing the media items. Exemplary metadata items describe aspects of the media item such as category, genre, contributor, ratings, and roles (e.g., actors, actresses).

In one embodiment, one or more computer-readable media or other memory areas such as memory area 130 associated with the catalog service 122 have computer-executable components comprising a rules component 132, an interface component 134, an aggregation engine component 136, and a front end component 138. The rules component 132 enables configuration, by the user 102, of interlinking rules 140 for combining catalog data such as catalog data 142 from the content providers or owners 106. The interface component 134 receives, from the content owners 106, the catalog data 142 including a plurality of metadata items. Each of the plurality of metadata items includes channel metadata and group metadata. The channel metadata and group metadata describe a media item associated with the metadata item. The aggregation engine component 136 combines the catalog data 142 received by the interface component 134 at least by comparing the channel metadata and group metadata from the received catalog data 142 to identify similar media items. The front end component 138 provides the combined catalog data 142 to the user 102. In an embodiment, the rules component 132 updates the interlinking rules 140 based on input from the user 102 without recompiling the aggregation engine component 136.

In an embodiment of the invention, a computer, computing device, or other general purpose computing device is suitable for use as the catalog service 122 in the figures illustrated and described herein. The computer has one or more processors or processing units and access to a memory area such as memory area 130.

The computer typically has at least some form of computer readable media. Computer readable media, which include both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media, may be any available medium that may be accessed by computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer readable media comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and include any information delivery media. Those skilled in the art are familiar with the modulated data signal, which has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media, such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media, are examples of communication media. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media.

In operation, a computing device executes computer-executable instructions such as those illustrated in the figures to implement aspects of the invention.

Referring next to FIG. 2, an exemplary flow chart illustrates operation of a video catalog service. At 202, the catalog format is defined according to a multi-field schema or other catalog format such as described in Appendix C. The catalog format stores metadata in fields such as a virtual channels data field, a video data field, a video group data field, a video series data field, a contributor data field, a poster data field, a trailer data field, and a supplementary data field. Each provider may create a virtual channel of content. The virtual channels data field stores metadata corresponding to a video list defining one or more video elements and a contributor list defining one or more contributor elements. Each of the video elements has an identifier and a title associated therewith. Each of the contributor elements identifies a contributor to the media content. The video group concept allows grouping of similar or related media content items together (e.g., by series, actor, movies, or television award). The catalog format also includes an action type for each of the received catalogs. The action type includes one or more of the following: add, edit, and delete. Interlinking and/or merging rules are configured at 204. The interlinking rules may be configured based on input from the user or automatically adjusted as a result of previous interlinking operations (e.g., a feedback system). The flow loops until catalog data is received from the content providers at 206. The catalog data being associated with a plurality of media items available from each of the content providers. In an embodiment, receiving the catalog data includes importing and loading a data feed from each of the content providers. The content providers format their catalog data according to the multi-field schema supported by aspects of the invention. Alternatively or in addition, a tool (e.g., a web tool) receives the catalog data from the content providers as input and outputs data in conformance with the schema.

The received catalog data is aggregated or merged at 208 based on the configured interlinking and/or merging rules. In an embodiment, interlinking comprises comparing the metadata items from the catalog data to identify similar media items. Aspects of the invention are operable with a plurality of techniques for identifying similar media items, or other forms of metadata matching, including, for example, fuzzy matching techniques. Merging and aggregating the catalog data includes parsing the catalog data received from the plurality of content providers and assigning the parsed catalog data to one or more fields of the multi-field schema.

The user catalog is generated at 210 or formatted from the aggregated catalog data based on the pre-defined catalog format for consumption by the user. In an embodiment, generating the user catalog includes propagating the user catalog to a front end database for access by the network interface. The generated user catalog is provided to the user at 212, for example, by a network interface, on a scheduled basis or on demand.

Aspects of the invention further include transmitting a portion of the generated user catalog to the user. The portion of the generated user catalog may represent an incremental update to a previously transmitted user catalog. Transmission of the incremental update reduces download time and conserves bandwidth. The incremental updates reflect the changes made to the catalog since the last download. Such options may be based on user preferences or system-defined preferences. Exemplary preferences may direct, for example, the download of a full catalog if the user is operating from a personal computer or download incremental updates if the user is operating from a mobile device.

In one embodiment, one or more computer-readable media have computer-executable instructions for performing the method illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring next to FIG. 3, an exemplary block diagram illustrates a video catalog system. In this exemplary embodiment, International Standard Audiovisual Number (ISAN) data import is supported. Metadata is interlinked and merged at the ISAN identifier level. Aspects of the invention map the IDs across the content providers.

Referring next to FIG. 4, an exemplary block diagram illustrates the import, interlinking, and merging of metadata from content providers. Data interlinking merges metadata items based on a set of business rules. One outcome of this process is to generate a mapping table with mapping between elements.

Referring next to FIG. 5, an exemplary flow chart illustrates receipt of catalogs from content providers. Referring next to FIG. 6, an exemplary flow chart illustrates metadata aggregation.

Referring next to FIG. 7, an exemplary flow chart illustrating rule-based catalog interlinking. Each rule includes one or more of the following parameters: attribute name (e.g., attribute/collection name to match), weight (e.g., weight for this rule), and a similarity threshold score (e.g., a minimum similarity score threshold for this rule to link the metadata item).

Referring next to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, an exemplary flow chart illustrating a similarity analysis during rule-based metadata interlinking. Metadata interlinking is a multi step process. Each rule may have a different significance to a step; therefore, rules are weighted in one embodiment. To control the quality of the interlinking, each rule has a minimum similarity. If the similarity is less then the minimum, it is not considered. The summation of the weighted similarity of all rules defines the similarity of a step, which then may be compared to the step's minimum similarity to generate a match. An exemplary summation is shown below in equation (1).

$\begin{matrix} {{SS} = {\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{RC}\; {{RSn}*{RWn}}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

where SS represents the step similarity, RS represents the rule similarity, RW represents the rule weight, and RC represents the rule count.

In one embodiment, the fuzzy matching algorithm works on two tables at a time (e.g., “source” and “destination” tables). Multiple columns of each table are considered for the fuzzy look up. Each column may have a different significance to the rule, therefore, columns are weighted. To control the quality of the interlinking, each column has a minimum similarity. If the similarity is less then the minimum, it is not considered. The summation of the weighted similarity of all columns defines the similarity of the rule. An exemplary summation is shown below in equation (2)

$\begin{matrix} {{RS} = {\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{CC}\; {{CSn}*{CWn}}}} & (2) \end{matrix}$

wherein RS represents the rule similarity, CS represents the column similarity, CW represents the column weight, and CC represents the column count.

Data normalization is performed at the column level. In one embodiment, multiple normalization processes are defined for each column and executed in a predefined order.

In “row level interlinking,” the names, birth dates, birth places, etc. of two people may be compared. These attributes are stored in a single row because of their one-to-one relationship with the people. A result row is built from multiple source rows. In “collection level interlinking,” the peoples' works (e.g., songs they've sang, movies they have starred in, etc.) are compared. A result collection is built from multiple source collections. To perform collection level interlinking, each item of the collection is compared as with row level interlinking. Treated as a collection, the collection level similarity may be calculated and compared to a predefined minimum collection similarity. There are many ways of defining collection similarity, as shown in equations (3), (4), and (5).

CS=MC/SCC  (3)

CS=MC/DCC  (4)

CS=MC/(SCC+DCC−MC)  (5)

where SCC represents a source collection count, DCC represents a destination collection count, MC represents a match count, and CS represents a collection similarity. Alternatively or in addition to a calculated relevant number, collection similarity may also be defined as a fixed number.

In one embodiment, the collection level interlinking is performed after the row level interlinking. In an embodiment, the fuzzy matching algorithm uses a set of pre-defined working tables as the input and output at runtime.

To differentiate columns from different sources in a row merge, or to differentiate collections from different sources in a collection merge, a priority is assigned to each of column/collection. There are two types of priority: static (e.g., predefined) and dynamic (e.g., content based). A static priority is a predefined, fixed value which does not change based on the content of the data. A dynamic priority is based on the content of the data. For example, for a row merge, the priority may be based on the value of the content or the string length of the content. For a collection merge, the priority may be based on the collection item count and a maximum and/or minimum value of a column.

In an embodiment, the priorities are the same from different sources. There are multiple, different ways of handling such a conflict including selecting one of the sources, or concatenating or summing the content from the conflicting sources. When performing a row merge, selecting one of the sources includes selecting one of the source column contents as the result column content. Concatenating the content comprises concatenating the string type data from the source columns for use as the result column content. Summing the content comprises summing the numerical data in the source column content as the result column content.

When performing a collection merge, selecting one of the sources includes selecting one of the collections as the result collection. Concatenating the content comprises adding the source collections items to the result collection.

Aspects of the invention may be implemented as a class of application programming interface routines. In an embodiment, MergeWorkerBase is the base abstract class, and different types of merges are implemented as different sub classes thereof. A RowMergeWorker class implements the logic of row merge. A CollectionMergeWorker class implements the logic of collection merge.

Although described in connection with an exemplary computing system environment, embodiments of the invention are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. The computing system environment illustrated in FIG. 1 is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of any aspect of the invention. Moreover, the computing system environment should not be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with aspects of the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, PoP devices, gaming consoles, programmable consumer electronics, mobile telephones, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

The following examples further illustrate embodiments of the invention. The figures, description, and examples herein as well as elements not specifically described herein but within the scope of aspects of the invention constitute means for aggregating the metadata items from the catalog data into the merged catalog data.

The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential, unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the invention may include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein. For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing a particular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after another operation is within the scope of aspects of the invention.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented with computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions may be organized into one or more computer-executable components or modules. Aspects of the invention may be implemented with any number and organization of such components or modules. For example, aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific computer-executable instructions or the specific components or modules illustrated in the figures and described herein. Other embodiments of the invention may include different computer-executable instructions or components having more or less functionality than illustrated and described herein.

When introducing elements of aspects of the invention or the embodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

Having described aspects of the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims. As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

APPENDIX A

The following are exemplary business rules for aggregating content from multiple providers and from a single provider.

Video Aggregation Among Multiple Providers

Partner A and Partner B have Movie A in their inventory, and they both provide the cover art and metadata for the movie. Even though the movie can be purchased/downloaded from the two content providers, aspects of the invention provide a consistent experience to users for browsing the movie in the catalog described herein. For example, the cover art and its movie metadata only show up once the initial catalog browsing experience. When the user decides to purchase or download Movie A, the service presents the offers from both Partner A and Partner B and allows the user to choose from which partner to purchase.

An exemplary configuration for the business rules for aggregating the video catalog are shown below.

Interlinking the video from Partner A and Partner B

-   -   If the ISANs are identical, the service in one embodiment of the         invention considers them to be the same video     -   For those videos that do not match based on the above rule, if         the overall similarity score of a video pair is over 90%, the         service considers them to be the same video. The overall         similarity is the sum of similarity score of the individual         rule. Each individual rule is calculated based on the similarity         of an attribute pair*weight. Below are some sample rules:         -   Video Title Interlinking Rule:             -   Similarity score=Video Title Similarity Score*90%                 (weight) If the Similarity Score <70%, consider the                 similarity score=0         -   Earliest available date Interlinking Rule:             -   Similarity score=(If the month and year of the Earliest                 Available Date Match, then 100, otherwise 0)*10%                 (weight)     -   For those videos that do not match based on the above rule, if         the overall similarity score of a video pair is over 90%, we         consider them to be the same video as well.         -   Video Title Interlinking Rule:             -   Similarity score=Video Title Similarity Score*50%                 (weight) If the Similarity Score <60%, consider, the                 similarity score=0         -   Earliest available date Interlinking Rule:             -   Similarity score=(If the year of the Earliest Available                 Date Match, then 100, otherwise 0)*20% (weight)         -   Cast List Interlinking Rule             -   Similarity score=(If top 10 cast list match, then 100,                 otherwise 0)*20% (weight). Top 10 cast list is sorted by                 cast ranking                 Merging the video metadata from Partner A and Partner B                 to create the best metadata user experience     -   For all the non-interlinked video, copy all the data to the         final publication table     -   For interlinked video matches,         -   Use Partner A video cover art in the final publication             table. If Partner A does not have cover art, use Partner B             cover art         -   Use Partner A description in the final publication table. If             Partner A does not have description, use Partner B             description         -   Use Partner A MPAA rating in the final publication table. If             Partner A does not have MPAA rating, use Partner B MPAA             rating         -   Use Partner B cast list in the final publication table. If             Partner B does not have cast list, use Partner B cast list

Video Group Aggregation Among a Single Provider

Partner A provides two similar law-related television shows. To help the user find the desired show, the service displays all episodes for both shows. The business rules to implement these actions are based on the following pattern: the video title starts with “Law” and the video type is either a series, mini-series, limited series, or movie.

APPENDIX B

Exemplary video fundamentals data are shown below as an extensible markup language (XML) file.

<?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <!--*******************************************************--> <!-- This xml defines video fundamentals.         --> <!-- WARNING: The ids defined in this file will be persisted. --> <!--*******************************************************--> <VideoFundamentals xmlns:xsi=″http://www.w3.org/ 2001/XMLSchema-instance″>  <RoleList>   <Role id=″1″ name=″Actor″ />   <Role id=″2″ name=″Director″ />   <Role id=″3″ name=″Guest Star″ />   <Role id=″4″ name=″Host″ />   <Role id=″5″ name=″Producer″ />   <Role id=″6″ name=″Writer″ />  </RoleList>  <VideoTypeList>   <VideoType id=″1″ name=″Movie″/>   <VideoType id=″2″ name=″Limited Series″/>   <VideoType id=″3″ name=″Miniseries″/>   <VideoType id=″4″ name=″Serial″/>   <VideoType id=″5″ name=″Series″/>   <VideoType id=″6″ name=″Short Film″/>   <VideoType id=″7″ name=″Special″/>  </VideoTypeList>  <FlagList>   <Flag id=″1″ name=″CC″ />   <Flag id=″2″ name=″Stereo″ />   <Flag id=″3″ name=″Repeat″ />   <Flag id=″4″ name=″New″ />   <Flag id=″5″ name=″Live″ />   <Flag id=″6″ name=″Tape″ />   <Flag id=″7″ name=″Delayed″ />   <Flag id=″8″ name=″Subtitled″ />   <Flag id=″9″ name=″Premiere″ />   <Flag id=″10″ name=″Season Premiere″ />   <Flag id=″11″ name=″Series Premiere″ />   <Flag id=″12″ name=″Finale″ />   <Flag id=″13″ name=″Season Finale″ />   <Flag id=″14″ name=″Series Finale″ />   <Flag id=″15″ name=″Dolby″ />   <Flag id=″16″ name=″Dolby Digital″ />   <Flag id=″17″ name=″Joined In Progress″ />   <Flag id=″18″ name=″Cable in the Classroom″ />   <Flag id=″19″ name=″Secondary Audio″ />   <Flag id=″20″ name=″Blackout″ />   <Flag id=″21″ name=″3D″ />   <Flag id=″22″ name=″DVS″ />   <Flag id=″23″ name=″Mini Series″ />   <Flag id=″24″ name=″Live Sports″ />   <Flag id=″25″ name=″Made for TV″ />   <Flag id=″26″ name=″Standard aspect ratio 4:3 (1:33:1)″ />   <Flag id=″27″ name=″HDTV aspect ratio 16:9 (1:85:1)″ />   <Flag id=″28″ name=″CinemaScope aspect ratio 2:35:1″ />   <Flag id=″29″ name=″High Definition TV format. Program that is broadcast in 1080p (1920x1080)″ />   <Flag id=″30″ name=″High Definition TV format. Program that is broadcast in 720p (1280x720) or 1080i″ />   <Flag id=″31″ name=″Enhanced Definition TV format program that is broadcast in 480p using progressive scanning at a 640x480 high pixel resolution″ />   <Flag id=″32″ name=″Standard Definition TV format program that is broadcast in 480i using interlaced scanning at a 640x480 high pixel resolution″ />  </FlagList>  <CategoryList>   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″0″ name=″Root″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″1″ name=″General″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″100″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″101″ name=″Action/Adventure″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″102″ name=″Comedy″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″103″ name=″Documentary/Bio″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″104″ name=″Drama″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″105″ name=″Educational″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″106″ name=″Family/Children″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″107″ name=″Movies″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″108″ name=″Music″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″109″ name=″News″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″110″ name=″Sci-Fi/Fantasy″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″111″ name=″Soap″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″112″ name=″Sports″ />    <Category parentId=″1″ id=″113″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″2″ name=″Educational″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″200″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″201″ name=″Arts″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″202″ name=″Biography″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″203″ name=″Documentary″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″204″ name=″How-to″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″205″ name=″Science″ />    <Category parentId=″2″ id=″206″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″3″ name=″Kids″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″300″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″301″ name=″Adventure″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″302″ name=″Animated″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″303″ name=″Comedy″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″304″ name=″Educational″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″305″ name=″Special″ />    <Category parentId=″3″ id=″306″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″4″ name=″Lifestyle″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″400″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″401″ name=″Adults Only″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″402″ name=″Collectibles″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″403″ name=″Cooking″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″404″ name=″Exercise″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″405″ name=″Health″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″406″ name=″Home and Garden″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″407″ name=″Outdoors″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″408″ name=″Religious″ />    <Category parentId=″4″ id=″409″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″5″ name=″Movies″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″500″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″501″ name=″Action and Adventure″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″502″ name=″Adults Only″/>    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″503″ name=″Children″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″504″ name=″Comedy″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″505″ name=″Drama″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″506″ name=″Fantasy″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″507″ name=″Horror″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″508″ name=″Musical″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″509″ name=″Mystery″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″510″ name=″Romance″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″511″ name=″Science Fiction″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″512″ name=″Suspense″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″513″ name=″Western″ />    <Category parentId=″5″ id=″514″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″6″ name=″News″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″600″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″601″ name=″Business″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″602″ name=″Current Events″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″603″ name=″Interview″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″604″ name=″Public Affairs″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″605″ name=″Sports″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″606″ name=″Weather″ />    <Category parentId=″6″ id=″607″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″7″ name=″Series″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″700″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″701″ name=″Action/Adventure″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″702″ name=″Children″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″703″ name=″Comedy″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″704″ name=″Cooking″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″705″ name=″Drama″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″706″ name=″Educational″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″707″ name=″Game Show″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″708″ name=″How-to″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″709″ name=″Music″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″710″ name=″Reality″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″711″ name=″Soap Opera″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″712″ name=″Talk Show″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″713″ name=″Travel″ />    <Category parentId=″7″ id=″714″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″8″ name=″Special″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″800″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″801″ name=″Awards/Event″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″802″ name=″Holiday″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″803″ name=″Music″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″804″ name=″Religious″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″805″ name=″Sports″ />    <Category parentId=″8″ id=″806″ name=″Other″ />   <Category parentId=″0″ id=″9″ name=″Sports″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″900″ name=″All″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″901″ name=″Baseball″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″902″ name=″Basketball″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″903″ name=″Boxing″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″904″ name=″Football″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″905″ name=″Golf″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″906″ name=″Hockey″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″907″ name=″Outdoor″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″908″ name=″Racing″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″909″ name=″Soccer″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″910″ name=″Tennis″ />    <Category parentId=″9″ id=″911″ name=″Other″ />  </CategoryList>  <RatingList>   <RatingType id=″0″ name=″Microsoft Rating″>    <RatingValue id=″1″ name=″All″ description=″For every one″ />    <RatingValue id=″2″ name=″6+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″3″ name=″12+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″4″ name=″13+″ description=″″/>    <RatingValue id=″5″ name=″14+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″6″ name=″15+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″7″ name=″17+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″8″ name=″18+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″9″ name=″19+″ description=″″/>    <RatingValue id=″10″ name=″R″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″11″ name=″X″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″100″ name=″MPAA Rating″ countryCode=″us″>    <RatingValue id=″101″ name=″G″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″102″ name=″PG″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″103″ name=″PG-13″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″104″ name=″R″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″105″ name=″NC-17″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″106″ name=″X″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″107″ name=″NR″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″108″ name=″AO″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10001″ name=″Adult Situations″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10002″ name=″Brief Nudity″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10003″ name=″Graphic Language″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10004″ name=″Graphic Violence″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10005″ name=″Language″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10006″ name=″Mild Violence″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10007″ name=″Nudity″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10008″ name=″Rape″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10009″ name=″Strong Sexual Content″ description=″″ />    <Descriptor id=″10010″ name=″Violence″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″200″ name=″Star Rating″>    <RatingValue id=″201″ name=″0″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″202″ name=″0H″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″203″ name=″1″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″204″ name=″1H″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″205″ name=″2″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″206″ name=″2H″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″207″ name=″3″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″208″ name=″3H″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″209″ name=″4″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″300″ name=″US Television   Rating″ countryCode=″us″>    <RatingValue id=″301″ name=″TV-G″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″302″ name=″TV-14″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″303″ name=″TV-MA″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″304″ name=″TV-Y″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″305″ name=″TV-Y7″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″400″ name=″UK Television Rating″   countryCode=″uk″>    <RatingValue id=″401″ name=″U″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″402″ name=″UC″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″403″ name=″PG″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″404″ name=″12″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″405″ name=″15″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″406″ name=″18″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″407″ name=″R18″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″500″ name=″KR Television Rating″   countryCode=″kr″>    <RatingValue id=″501″ name=″ALL″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″502″ name=″SEVEN″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″503″ name=″TWELVE″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″504″ name=″FIFTEEN″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″505″ name=″NINETEEN″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″600″ name=″Canada Television Rating″ countryCode=″ca″>    <RatingValue id=″601″ name=″18+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″602″ name=″14+″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″603″ name=″PG″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″604″ name=″G″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″605″ name=″C8″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″606″ name=″C″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″700″ name=″DE Television Rating″   countryCode=″de″>    <RatingValue id=″701″ name=″ALL″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″702″ name=″SIX″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″703″ name=″TWELVE″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″704″ name=″SIXTEEN″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″705″ name=″ADULTS″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>   <RatingType id=″800″ name=″FR Television Rating″   countryCode=″fr″>    <RatingValue id=″801″ name=″CAT1″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″802″ name=″CAT2″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″803″ name=″CAT3″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″804″ name=″CAT4″ description=″″ />    <RatingValue id=″805″ name=″CAT5″ description=″″ />   </RatingType>  </RatingList> </VideoFundamentals>

APPENDIX C

An exemplary video catalog schema is shown below.

Video Catalog Element

Element Name Description Video Catalog Video catalog root element. This element has an attribute schemaVersion and includes Contributors list, Video list, Video Group list, Series list, Virtual channels list, Poster list, Trailer list, Supplementary file list, and Offer list ContributorList Define a list of contributors available. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Contributor element(s). Contributor is a person who makes a contribution to the video content. Examples are actor, actresses, writer, producer or director. Please refer to the Contributor element for more details VideoList Define a list of video available. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Video elements. Video is unique piece of content such as Movie, TV episode, Music Video or User Generated Content VideoGroupList Define a list of Video Groups. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Video Group elements. SeriesList Define a list of TV Series. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Series elements VChannelList Define a list of video channels available. This element has no attribute but includes one or many VChannel element(s). PosterList Define a list of movie poster image files associates with Video, TV series, or TV season.. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Poster Element element(s). TrailerList Define a list of video trailer files associates with Video, TV series, or TV season. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Trailer element(s). SupplementaryFileList Define a list of supplementary files associates with Video, TV series, or TV season. This element has no attribute but includes one or many SupplementaryFile element(s). OfferList Define a list of offers associates with Video, TV series, or TV season. This element has no attribute but includes one or many Offer element(s).

Video Element

Video element defines a unique piece of video content, such as a Movie, a TV episode, a Music Video or a User Generated Content (UGC). Every unique video content will be a unique Video element. If same content is released in different format (such as HD vs. SD or different languages), each format will be a unique “Video Instance” element. However, they will all belong to the same “Video” parent element.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Video TVideo Video is unique piece of content. For example, a Movie, a TV episode, a Music Video or a User-Generated Content (UGC) id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the Video. This ID should uniquely identify a Video, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different Video. CRID Char(200) TV-anytime CRID for TV program. ISAN Min: The ISAN (International Standard Char(21) Audiovisual Number) is a voluntary Max: numbering system for the identification Char(33) of audiovisual works. It provides a unique, internationally recognized and permanent reference number for each audiovisual work registered in the ISAN system For example: 1234-A678-9012-3456-7-B111-2222-8 First 16 digits + 1 checksum digit are required in an embodiment. The rest of 8 digits + 1 checksum digit are optional version number title Char(100) Full title for the Video reducedTitle Char(50) Short title for the Video subTitle Char(100) Sub title for the Video desc Char(4000) Full description for the video reducedDesc Char(100) Short description for the video videoTypeID Integer Unique ID assigned by the service for the Video Type. earliestAvailableDate DateTime Date that the video content was available for viewing. For TV episode, this is the original air date - date when the episode is first aired. For movie, this is the release date when the movie is available for viewing in theater durationSecs Integer Total run time for the video in seconds productionCompany Char(100) Production Studio or Network For TV episode, it is the name of the Network For Movies, it is the name of the studio licensorID Integer Unique ID for licensor licensorType Char(100) Movie Studio, TV Studio, or distributor copyright Char(255) Copyright display text. For example, “Copyright @2004 Provider A” VideoInstanceList TVideoInstanceList A collection of Video Instance for the Video. “Video Instance” is a different format or version or language for a given Video. RoleList TVideoRoleList A collection of Role for the Video. Role contains the cast and character information for the video CategoryList TVideoCategoryList A list of category that the video is associated with. For TV series or episode, for association with the sub-category under “General” (i.e. in the range of 100). For Movies, for association with the sub-category under “Movie” (i.e. in the range of 500). For Music Video, for association with the category under “Music Video” (i.e. in the range of 1100). For Promo content, for association with the sub-category under “General”, “Movies” or “Music Video” (i.e. in the range of 100, 500, or 1100) RatingList TRatingList A list of rating associates with the video. For example, MPAA or editorial rating. FlagList TFlagList A list of attribute associates with the video. TagList TTagList A collection of Tag. Tag defines a list of “keyword” associate with the video, and is used to facilitate search.

VideoInstance Element

Video Instance is a different format or version or language of a Video (i.e. content is the same).

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description VideoInstance TVideoData Contains information of the Video File Instance id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier of the Video Instance. This ID should uniquely identify a Video Instance, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different Video Instance. isDRM Boolean Flag indicate whether the content is DRM or not ISANVersionNumber Char(11) Optional version number of ISAN (Format in xxxx-xxxx-x) spokenLanguage Char(100) Spoken language for the video AudioFormat TAudioFormat Audio Format information for the Video Instance. VideoFormat TVideoFormat Video Format information for the Video Instance. VideoFileList TVideoFileList A collection of VideoFile for the VideoInstance. VideoFile is the physical video file for downloading/streaming. Generally, each VideoInstance will have only 1 VideoFile element, however, in cases when the file size for a given VideoInstance is too big, it might break into multiple small files, result in multiple VideoFile elements AdGroupList TAdGroup A collection of AdGroup element. AdGroup is only used in Ad- sponsored Video content.

VideoFile Element

VideoFile element contains information of the physical video file (e.g. missionimpossible.wmv) for downloading/streaming. Generally, each VideoInstance will have only one VideoFile element, however, in cases when the file size for a given VideoInstance is too big (e.g. Titanic HD version), might break into multiple small files, result in multiple VideoFile element. For details on data relationship, please refer to the Video Catalog Data Relationship Diagram.

Element Name Attribute Name Data Type Description VideoFile TVideoData Contains information of the physical File video file to download/stream uuid GUID Partner assigned unique identifier of the physical video file url Char(10) URL of the physical video file size Big Integer Size (in bytes) of the physical video file durationSecs Integer Run time of the physical video file (in secs) Hash THash Hash type Char(100) Hash type. By default, it's MD5 value Char(100) Hash value MarkerList TMarkerList A collection of Marker element. Marker is only used in Ad-sponsored Video content.

AudioFormat Element

AudioFormat element contains audio format information for the video.

Attribute Element Name Name Data Type Description AudioFormat TAudioFormat Contains audio format info encoding Enum Enum defined by the service for the Audio Encoding Type. channel String Mono or Stereo samplingRate Integer Sampling Rate in Hz CC Boolean Closed caption flag subtitle String Subtitle language. If there is no subtitle available, set this field to empty string, otherwise, set this to language of the subtitle bitRate Integer Bit rate for the audio

VideoFormat Element

VideoFormat element contains video format information for the video.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description VideoFormat TVideoFormat Contains video format info definition Enum Enum defined by the service for the definition format. aspectRatio Enum Enum defined by the service for the Aspect Ratio. resolutionX Integer Resolution-X resolutionY Integer Resolution-Y encoding Enum Enum defined by the service for the Video Encoding Type. bitRate Integer Bit rate for the video frame Integer Frame/sec

Series Element

Series element contains information for a TV series such as season, episode information etc.

Element Data Name Attribute Name Type Description Series TSeries TV Series data id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the Series. This ID should uniquely identify a Series, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different Series title Char(100) Series title. desc Char(4000) Full description for the Series numberOfSeason Integer Total number of season for the series. IsOrderBySeason Boolean Flag indicating whether the series is order by season or not. Season TSeason Season data for the TV series id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the TV Series Season. This ID should uniquely identify a TV Series season, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different TV Series Season seasonNumber Integer Season number. title Char(100) Series title for the season. isComplete Boolean Flag indicating whether the season is complete and all episodes are ready to download episodeFrequency Char(100) Frequency for new episodes. Examples are Daily, weekly or monthly Episode TEpisode TV Episode Data. videoID Integer Partner assigned unique ID for the TV Episode. This ID should maps to the ID defined in the VideoList element node title Char(100) Episode Title episodeNumber Integer Episode Number seasonID Integer Partner assigned unique ID for the Season. This ID should maps in the ID defined in the Season element node primeTimeFlag Boolean Flag indicating whether the episode is broadcast in PrimeTime or Not

VideoGroup Element

Video Group is for grouping purposes. Below are a few scenario using Video Group for grouping

-   -   Group Related Video/Content. For example,         -   Action Movie III collection—use Video group to group Action             Movie III and Action Movie III: Director's Cut into same             bucket     -   Promotion/Bundling         -   Use Video Group to group all Action Movie movies (into             single bucket) and offer special discount price for             customers to download     -   Group award winner content together. For example:         -   Award Winner collection—use Video group to group all movies             that won a particular award     -   Group editorial recommendation together. For example:     -   What's good to watch for 1^(st) date—use Video group to provide         TV/Movies recommendation for 1^(st) date         -   Best 10 Movies for year 2006—use Video group to provide top             Movies recommendation         -   Feature Video—use Video Group to define Feature Video

Element Attribute Data Name Name Type Description VideoGroup TVideoGroup Video Group is used for grouping purposes. id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the Video Group. This ID should uniquely identify a Video Group, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different Video Group title Char(100) Video Group Title. type Char(100) Type of the video group, explains why the videos are grouped together. For example, “Related Video” VideoList TVideoRef Define a list of Video available in this video group VideoID Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the video. This ID should maps in the ID defined in the VideoList element node VideoInstanceList TVideoInstanceRef Define a list of video instance available in this video group VideoInstanceID Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the video instance. This ID should maps in the ID defined in the VideoInstance element node SeriesList TSeriesRef Define a list of Series available in this video group SeriesID Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the series. This ID should maps in the ID defined in the Series element node

Trailer Element

Trailer element enables provider to associate video trailers to a Video (movies or TV episode), a TV series, a TV Series Season, a Video group or a Video Instance.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Trailer TTrailer Video Trailer Data associateElementType Enum Type of element that the video trailer is associated with. For example, a video trailer can be associated to a TV Series, TV season or a particular TV Episode or movie, or a Video Instance etc. associateElementId Integer Element ID that the video trailer is associated with. The type of ID (whether it is a Series ID, Season ID, Video ID or Video Instance ID) is depended on the associateElementType. uuid Integer Partner assigned unique identifier of the video trailer file url Char(1024) URL of the video trailer file size Big Integer Size (in bytes) of the video trailer file durationSecs Integer Run time of the video trailer file (in secs) ranking Integer Ranking of the video trailer in ascending order, where 1 being the first trailer for displaying on the UI AudioFormat TAudioFormat Contains the Audio Format information for the video trailer VideoFormat TVideoFormat contains the Video Format information for the video trailer

Poster Element

Poster element enables provider to associate poster image files to a Video (movies or TV episode), a TV series, a Season of a TV series, a Video group or a Video Instance.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Poster TPoster Poster image Data associateElementType Enum Type of element that the poster image is associated with. A poster image can be associated to a TV Series, TV season or a particular TV Episode or movie etc. associateElementId Integer Element ID that the poster image is associated with. The type of ID (whether it is a Series ID, Season ID, Video ID or Video Instance ID) is depended on the AssociateElementType. uuid Integer Partner assigned unique identifier of the poster image file url Char(1024) URL of the poster image file size Integer Size (in bytes) of the image file ImageFormat TImageFormat Image Format information for the poster.

ImageFormat Element

ImageFormat element contains image format information for poster or supplementary image file.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description ImageFormat TImageFormat Contains information of the image format info formatType Enum Enum assigned by the service for the Encoding Type. width Integer Image width (in pixels) height Integer Image height (in pixels)

Offer Element

Offer element enables provider to associate offer to a Video (movies or TV episode), a TV series, a Season of a TV series, a Video group or a Video Instance.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Offer TOffer Contains offer information offerId Integer Unique ID will be used for requesting fulfillment associateElementType Enum Type of element that the offer is associated with. For example, an offer can be associated to a TV Series, TV season or a particular TV Episode or movie etc. For example, if the network wants to associate an offer for HD version of episode 3 for a particular series during a particular Season 1, it can be done by setting this field to “VideoInstane”, and set the “AssociateElementID” to the Video Instance ID of the series season 1 episode 3. associateElementId Integer Element ID that the offer is associated with. The type of ID (whether it is a Series ID, Season ID, Video ID or Video Instance ID) is depended on the AssociateElementType. offerType TUsage Type of offering. Examples are Download, Streaming or Subscription priceRetail Decimal Retail price for the offer. priceWhole Decimal Wholesale price for the offer. This sale price may be the wholesale price for a Video, Video Instance, a TV Series, or a TV Season, and it is depended on the associateElementType specific for the offer. startDateTime DateTime GMT date time that the offer becomes available endDateTime DateTime GMT date time that the offer expires territoryCode Char(3) Country code that the video is available for download The territoryCode is a 3-letter country code as derived from ISO 3166 corporateCode Char(100) Content Provider Corporate ID Promotion Promotion Info promotion Char(500) Internal Use only DisplayText promotion Char(25) Internal Use only Code promotion Decimal Internal Use only PRice promotion DateTime Internal Use only StartDateTime promotion DateTime Internal Use only EndDateTime Associate This is only applicable to Season, ElChildElment Series offer in an embodiment. It includes a list of Video Instance element ID that the season or series offer is associated with. id integer Video Instance Element ID that the offer is associated with. For example, the HD version of a particular series Season 1 is going to sell for wholesale price $19.99. First, set the wholesale price to “19.99”, then set the associateElementType to “TVSeasonHD”, set the “AssociateElementID” to the Season ID of Season 1, and then add the list of Video Instance IDs for all HD episodes in Season 1 to the AssociateChildElement node

SupplementaryFile Element

SupplementaryFile element enables provider to associate any supplementary files that are non-poster, non-trailer to the Video. Examples are: Screenshots for the video, licensing agreement files, attribution files etc.

Attribute Element Name Name Data Type Description SupplementaryFile TSupplementaryFile SupplementaryFile element enables provider to associate any supplementary files that are non- poster, non-trailer to a Video, Video Instance, TV Series, TV Season, Channel etc associateElementType Enum Type of element that the supplementary file is associated with. A supplementary file can be associated to a TV Series, TV season or a particular TV Episode or movie etc. associateElementId Integer Element ID that the supplementary file is associated with. The type of ID (whether it is a Series ID, Season ID, Video ID or Video Instance ID) is depended on the AssociateElementType. uuid Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the supplementary file content Enum Enum defined by the service for the Type supported content type for supplementary file. fileType Enum Enum defined by the service for the supported file type for supplementary file. url Char(1024) URL of the supplementary file size Integer Size (in bytes) of the supplementary file duration Integer For supplementary file that is in Secs video format, this is run time of the physical video file. For non-video supplementary file, leave this blank AudioFormat TAudioFormat For supplementary file that is in video format, this element contains the Audio Format information for the video. For non-video supplementary file, leave out this element VideoFormat TVideoFormat For supplementary file that is in video format, this element contains the Video Format information for the video. For non-video supplementary file, leave out this element ImageFormat TImageFormt For supplementary file that is image, this element contains the Image Format information. For non-image supplementary file, leave out this element Hash THash Hash type Char(100) Hash type. By default, it's MD5 value Char(100) Hash value

Category Element

Category contains categories/genre information for Video content. You can associate multiple categories to a Video. For example, for a Video that is “Romantic Comedy”, you can associate two Category IDs to it—“Romance” and “Comedy”.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Category TCategoryRef Video category/genre. Category is defined into 2 level. A video can associate to first level, second level or both. A video can also be associated with multiple categories. id Integer Unique Category ID assigned by the service.

Role Element

Role contains the cast and character information for the video.

Element Attribute Data Name Name Type Description Role TRole roleID Integer Unique ID assigned by the service for the Role. contributorID Integer Partner assigned unique ID for the contributor. This ID should maps in the ID defined in the Contributor element node character Char Name of the character (50) ranking Integer Role ranking in ascending order, where 1 being the most important Role in the video

Flag Element

Flag contains attribute information associated with the video.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Flag TFlagRef Attribute associates with the video. ID Integer Unique ID assigned by the service for the Video Flag.

Rating Element

Rating contains parental rating information associated with the video. Multiple ratings can be associated to a given video

Element Attribute Data Name Name Type Description Rating TRating Rating associates with the video. RatingValueID Integer Rating Value ID assigned by the service. RatingDescriptorID Integer Rating Descriptor ID assigned by the service.

Contributor Element

Contributor contains the actor/actress/cast info.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Contributor TContributor Contributor is a human being or animal who makes contribution to the video content. Examples are actor, actresses, writer, producer or director. id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the contributor. This ID should uniquely identify a contributor, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different contributor. fName Char(50) First name of the contributor. If the contributor is an animal, this is the name of the animal mName Char(50) Middle name of the contributor lName Char(50) Last name of the contributor prefix Char(50) Prefix for the contributor. suffix Char(50) Suffix for the contributor.

VChannel Element

VChannel is the Virtual video channel, it can be a traditional network channel or a virtual channel defined by provider.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description VChannel TVChannel Virtual video channel. Virtual video channel can be a traditional network channel or a virtual channel defined by provider id Integer Partner assigned unique identifier for the virtual video channel. This ID should uniquely identify a video channel, and should not be changed or recycled to assign to a different virtual channel. title Char Full display name for the Virtual (50) Video channel reducedTitle Char Short display name for the Virtual (20) Video channel desc Char Full description for the Virtual Video (4000) channel reducedDesc Char Short description for the Virtual Video (1000) channel NetworkLogo TNetworkLogo Network Logo Data url Char(1024) URL of the Network Logo image file size Integer Size (in bytes) of the image file ImageFormat TImageFormat Image Format information for the video. Video TVideoRef Define a list of videos available in this channel VideoID Integer Partner assigned unique ID for the video. This ID should maps in the ID defined in the VideoList element node

Marker Element

Marker contains position information on inserting ads. It is used in Ad-sponsored Video content.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Marker TMarker Position to insert Ads name Char(100) Marker name type Char(100) Marker type startMillis Long Start millisecond durationMillis Long Duration in millisecond

Tag Element

Tag defines a list of “keyword” associate with the video, and is used to facilitate search.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description Tag TTag Tag namespace Tag namespace

AdGroup Element

AdGroup contains the ad information for Ad-sponsored Video content.

Element Attribute Name Name Data Type Description AdGroup TAdGroup Ad group information id Integer Ad Group ID Manifest Char(1024) Ad Group Manifest Url Url

Video Type

Video Type ID Video Type 1 Movie 2 TV Episode in a Limited Series 3 TV Episode in a Mini-Series 4 TV Episode in a Serial 5 TV Episode in a Series 6 Short Film 7 Special 8 Video Podcast 9 Movie Trailer 10 Music Video 11 Sporting Event 12 User Generated Content/Video 13 Music Video Sample Clip 14 TV Promo Sample Clip 15 Other Promo Content Clip 16 Games Trailer 17 Audio Podcast

Audio Encoding Type

Enumerated Type Description WMA WMA Dolby Dolby Dolby Digital Dolby Digital DTS DTS (DTS Coherent Acoustics) MP3 MP3

Definition Format Type

Enumerated Type Description SD Standard Definition HD High-Def XD XD ED Enhanced Definition

Aspect Ratio Type

Enumerated Type Description 4:3 4:3 (Standard) 16:9 16:9 (High-Def) 1:37:1 1:37:1 2:39:1 2:39:1 1:37:1 1:37:1 1:85:1 1:85:1

Video Encoding Type

Enumerated Type Description WMV WMV WMV HD WMV HD MPEG-4ASP MPEG-4 ASP Video (3ivx, DivC, XviD) Digital) H.264 MPEG-4 AVC (H.264, MainConcept, Nero Digital, QuickTime H.264, Sorenson AVC Pro codec, Vanguard Software Solutions, x264) MPEG-1 MPEG-1 Video MPEG-2 MPEG-2 Video ASF ASF WAX WAX RealVideo RealVideo

Download Type

Enumerated Type Description Stream Stream Download Download Progressive DL Progressive DL

Image Type

Enumerated Type Description JPG JPEG GIF GIF PNG PNG TIF TIF

Associate Element Type

Enumerated Type Description VideoInstance Video Instance Video Video TVSeason TV Season, includes all episodes in a season, either in HD or SD or XD) TVSeasonHD TV Season, but only includes episodes that are in HD format TVSeasonSD TV Season, but only includes episodes that are in SD format TVSeasonXD TV Season, but only includes episodes that are in XD format TVSeries TV Series, includes all episodes in a series, either in HD or SD or XD TVSeriesHD TV Series,, but only includes episodes that are in HD format TVSeriesSD TV Series,, but only includes episodes that are in SD format TVSeriesXD TV Series,, but only includes episodes that are in XD format VChannel Virtual Channel VideoGroup Video Group Contributor Contributor

Supplementary Content Type

Enumerated Type Description ScreenShot Screen Shot Attribution Attribution Licensing Licensing

Supplementary File Type

Enumerated Type Description ImageFile ImageFile VideoFile VideoFile HTML HTML XML XML

Category ID

Main Category SubCategory ID Name ID Name 100 General 101 All 102 Action/Adventure 103 Comedy 104 Documentary/Bio 105 Drama 106 Educational 107 Family/Children 108 Movies 109 Music 110 News 111 Sci-Fi/Fantasy 112 Soap 113 Sports 114 Other 200 Educational 201 All 202 Arts 203 Biography 204 Documentary 205 How-to 206 Science 207 Other 300 Kids 301 All 302 Adventure 303 Animated 304 Comedy 305 Educational 306 Special 307 Other 400 Lifestyle 401 All 403 Collectibles 404 Cooking 405 Exercise 406 Health 407 Home and Garden 408 Outdoors 409 Religious 410 Other 500 Movies 501 All 502 Action 504 Adventure 505 Avant-garde/Experimental 506 Business 507 Children's/Family 508 Comedy 509 Comedy Drama 510 Crime 511 Culture & Society 512 Dance 513 Drama 514 Education 515 Epic 516 Family & Personal Relationships 517 Fantasy 518 Film, TV & Radio 519 Health & Fitness 520 Historical Film 521 History 522 Horror 523 Language & Literature 524 Leisure Arts 525 Music 526 Musical 527 Mystery 528 Nature 529 Romance 530 Science & Technology 531 Science Fiction 532 Spirituality & Philosophy 533 Sports & Recreation 534 Spy Film 535 Theater 536 Thriller 537 Travel 538 Visual Arts 539 War 540 Western 600 News 601 All 602 Business 603 Current Events 604 Interview 605 Public Affairs 606 Sports 607 Weather 608 Other 700 Series 701 All 702 Action/Adventure 703 Children 704 Comedy 705 Cooking 706 Drama 707 Educational 708 Game Show 709 How-to 710 Music 711 Reality 712 Soap Opera 713 Talk Show 714 Travel 715 Other 800 Special 801 All 802 Awards/Event 803 Holiday 804 Music 805 Religious 806 Sports 807 Other 900 Sports 901 All 902 Baseball 903 Basketball 904 Boxing 905 Football 906 Golf 907 Hockey 908 Outdoor 909 Racing 910 Soccer 911 Tennis 912 Other 1000 Clips 1001 UGC 1002 Promo Content—TV 1003 Promo Content—Movie 1004 Promo Content 1100 Music Video 1101 Blues 1102 Jazz 1103 Latin 1104 Metal 1105 New Age 1106 Oldies 1107 Other 1108 Pop 1109 Rap &amp; Hip-Hop 1110 Reggae 1111 Religious 1112 Rock 1113 Soul and RB 1114 Soundtracks 1115 Spoken 1116 Vocal 1117 World 1118 Children 1119 Classical 1120 Comedy 1121 Country 1122 Dance 1123 Easy Listening 1124 Electronica 1125 Folk 1126 Holiday

Role ID

Role ID Role Name 1 Actor 2 Director 3 Guest Star 4 Host 5 Producer 6 Writer 7 Arranger 8 Artist 9 Composer 10 Conductor 11 Contributing Artist 12 Director of Photography 13 Editor 14 Engineer 15 Ensemble/Orchestra 16 Executive Producer 17 Guest Artist 18 Hair and Make Up 19 Mixer 20 Performer 21 Post Production Effects 22 Production Designer 23 Soloist 24 Wardrobe Stylist

Flag ID

Flag ID Video Flag Attribute 1 Premiere 2 Season Premiere 3 Series Premiere 4 Finale 5 Season Finale 6 Series Finale

Rating Type ID

Rating Type Rating ID Rating Type 100 MPAA Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 101 1 G 102 2 PG 103 3 PG-13 104 4 R 105 5 NC-17 106 6 X 107 7 NR 108 8 AO Descriptor Rating ID name 10001 Adult Situations 10002 Brief Nudity 10003 Graphic Language 10004 Graphic Violence 10005 Language 10006 Mild Violence 10007 Nudity 10008 Rape 10009 Strong Sexual Content 10010 Violence 200 Star Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 201 1 0 202 2 0H 203 3 1 204 4 1H 205 5 2 206 6 2H 207 7 3 208 8 3H 209 9 4 300 US Television Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 301 1 TV-G 302 2 TV-14 303 3 TV-MA 304 4 TV-Y 305 5 TV-Y7 400 UK Television Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 401 1 U 402 2 UC 403 3 PG 404 4 12 405 5 15 406 5 18 407 6 R18 500 KR Television Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 501 1 ALL 502 2 SEVEN 503 3 TWELVE 504 4 FIFTEEN 505 5 NINETEEN 600 Canada Television Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 601 1 18+ 602 2 14+ 603 3 PG 604 4 G 605 5 C8 606 6 C 700 DE Television Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 701 1 ALL 702 2 SIX 703 3 TWELVE 704 4 SIXTEEN 705 5 ADULTS 800 FR Television Rating Rating Rating ID rank value 801 1 CAT1 802 2 CAT2 803 3 CAT3 804 4 CAT4 805 5 CAT5 900 Explicit Language Rating Rating ID rank value 901 1 Restrict 902 2 Clean 

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized method executable by a processor of a catalog service for providing a catalog of media files, said method comprising: receiving a plurality of source collections from a plurality of content providers, each of said source collections comprising a plurality of media files and metadata associated therewith available from at least one corresponding content providers, wherein a subset of the media files from different content providers have similar content, and wherein a subset of the metadata from the different content providers have non-identical content; row level interlinking the source collections; collection level interlinking the row level interlinked source collection into a destination collection based on one or more of a source collection count of the row level interlinked source collections and a specified destination collection count of the destination collection; selecting one of the media files of the subset of media files having similar content; generating combined metadata mapping the interlinked source collections; generating a user catalog from the destination collection in a pre-defined catalog format for consumption by a user via the client computer, said user catalog including the selected media file and further including, associated with the selected media file, the combined metadata; and transmitting at least a portion of the generated user catalog to the client computer.
 2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein receiving the source collections comprises importing and loading a data feed from each of the plurality of content providers.
 3. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising defining the catalog format according to a multi-field schema and wherein row level interlinking includes parsing the catalog data received from the plurality of content providers and assigning the parsed catalog data to one or more fields of the multi-field schema.
 4. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the catalog format comprises an action type for catalog data received from each of the content providers, and wherein the action type comprises one or more of the following: add, edit, and delete.
 5. The computerized method of claim 3, wherein the multi-field schema comprises one or more of the following: a virtual channels data field, a video data field, a video group data field, a video series data field, a contributor data field, a poster data field, a trailer data field, and a supplementary data field.
 6. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured for providing a network interface for delivering the generated user catalog to the client computer.
 7. The computerized method of claim 6, wherein generating the user catalog comprises propagating the user catalog to a front end database for access by the network interface.
 8. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured for periodically updating the user catalog by transmitting a portion of the generated user catalog to the client computer.
 9. The computerized method of claim 8, wherein transmitting the portion of the generated user catalog comprises transmitting, to the client computer, an incremental update to a previously transmitted user catalog.
 10. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein one or more computer-readable storage media have computer executable instructions for performing the method recited in claim
 1. 11. A system of providing a consistent user experience when viewing a catalog of metadata, said system comprising: a memory area for storing a plurality of interlinking rules, said memory area further storing a plurality of source collections from a plurality of content providers, each of said source collections comprising metadata associated with a plurality of media files available from at least one corresponding content providers, wherein a subset of the media files from different content providers have similar content, and wherein a subset of the metadata from the different content providers have non-identical content; and a processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions for: configuring the interlinking rules stored in the memory area according to input from a user; row level interlinking the source collections in the memory area based on the configured rules, said row level interlinking comprising comparing the metadata from the catalog data; collection level interlinking the row level interlinked source collection into a destination collection based on one or more of a source collection count of the row level interlinked source collections and a specified destination collection count of the destination collection; selecting one of the media files of the subset of media files having similar content; generating combined metadata mapping the interlinked source collections; associating the combined metadata with the selected media file; and formatting the destination collection into a defined catalog format for delivery to the user.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the source collections from the plurality of content providers and to store the received source collections in the memory area.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the metadata includes one or more of the following fields: virtual channel metadata and virtual group metadata.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the virtual channel metadata comprise a video list defining one or more video elements and a contributor list defining one or more contributor elements, wherein each of the video elements has an identifier and a title associated therewith, and wherein each of the contributor elements identifies a contributor to the media content.
 15. The system of claim 11, further comprising an aggregation engine executed by the processor for interlinking the media files and metadata, and wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer-executable instructions for updating the interlinking rules without recompiling the aggregation engine.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory area further stores a data structure representing the interlinked source collections.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the formatted destination collection delivered to the user comprises an incremental update to previously delivered destination collection.
 18. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for aggregating the metadata items from the source collections into the interlinked source collections.
 19. One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable components comprising: a rules component for enabling configuration, by a user, of rules for interlinking media files and metadata from a plurality of content providers, wherein a subset of the media files from different content providers have similar content; an interface component for receiving, from at least one content providers, a plurality of source collections, each of said source collections comprising a plurality of media files and metadata associated therewith, said metadata including channel metadata and group metadata, said channel metadata and group metadata describing one or more media files associated with the metadata; an aggregation engine component for row level interlinking the source collections into predefined input tables based on one or more of the rules, said aggregation component further collection level interlinking the row level interlinked predefined input tables into a predefined output table as a destination collection and selecting one of the subset of media files having similar content, said aggregation component further generating combined metadata mapping the interlinked metadata; and a front end component for providing the selected media file and, associated with the selected media file, the combined metadata as part of the destination collection to a user.
 20. The computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein the rules component updates the interlinking rules based on input from the user without recompiling the aggregation engine component. 